CALLAWAY, VA :: Kyle Dudley added to his points lead by sweeping Late Model features at Franklin County Speedway on Saturday night.  His sixth and seventh wins of the season essentially secured a third track championship for the Roanoke driver.

“It was a good night,” Dudley said.  “We’ve been running great all year.  I think we’ve clinched the championship as far as that goes winning these races tonight.  It’s been a good year.  Tonight was a good night.  The car was great and all I had to do was hold the wheel.”

Dudley entered the race with a 67 point lead over Wesley Thomason and a 75 point advantage over Rusty Gaspard.  With his victories, he will extend his points lead by 12 points over both drivers, virtually securing his championship bid with just two races to go.  Dudley took the lead on the seventh lap of the first race and went on to win after starting in fifth.  In the second race, Dudley prevailed over Rusty Gaspard in a battle for the win.

“The car was just wicked,” Dudley stated.  “I could put it wherever I wanted on the track.  It just about drove itself.  It was in a league of its own.  I couldn’t do it without all my guys.  I can’t thank them all enough.”

While the championship is all but official, Dudley says it doesn’t change his outlook on racing.

“I never race for points,” Dudley explained.  “We’ll just keep doing what we’re doing for the rest of the year.  We’ve had the car rolling.  It’s just been good.  We’ll see what happens.  All these big names are coming for the Bullring Battle so we’ll see what we’ve got when they come.”

Bobby Gillespie made his first start since early-July and made the most of it finishing in the second position in the first race.

“I told Kyle to let me borrow his carburetor but he won’t let me,” Gillespie joked.  “It’s alright. I’ll go back and put my old carb on now.  I feel like I’ve got a lot of rust on me, need some bondo to cover it up.”

Steven Truell finished third in the first race followed by Billy Martin and Wesley Thomason.  Rusty Gaspard finished sixth despite a line breaking on his car causing it to erupt in flames.  Track officials quickly extinguished the flame and Gaspard, remarkably, was able to rejoin the race.  In the second race, Gaspard finished in second while Thomason, Truell and Gilespie rounded out the top five.

The next race at Franklin County Speedway will be on October 26th when Halloween Havoc invades the fastest 3/8th mile in Virginia.

Race Results

Twin Race #1
1. #51 Kyle Dudley
2. #18 Bobby Gillespie
3. #64 Steven Truell
4. #87 Billy Martin
5. #08 Wesley Thomason
6. #23 Rusty Gaspard
7. #61 Eddie Rocke
8. #41 Kenny Frohe — DNS
9. #88 Cary Thomason — DNS

Twin Race #2
1. #51 Kyle Dudley
2. #23 Rusty Gaspard
3. #08 Wesley Thomason
4. #64 Steven Truell
5. #18 Bobby Gillespie
6. #87 Billy Martin
7. #61 Eddie Rocke — DNS
8. #41 Kenny Frohe — DNS
9. #88 Cary Thomason — DNS